Public companies are CK Life Sciences Int'l., (Holdings) Inc.'s (HKG:775) biggest owners and were hit after market cap dropped HK$481m

Key Insights

• Significant control over CK Life Sciences Int'l. (Holdings) by public companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• 67% of the business is held by the top 2 shareholders
• 22% of CK Life Sciences Int'l. (Holdings) is held by insiders

A look at the shareholders of CK Life Sciences Int'l., (Holdings) Inc. (HKG:775) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that public companies own the lion's share in the company with 45% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

As a result, public companies as a group endured the highest losses last week after market cap fell by HK$481m.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about CK Life Sciences Int'l. (Holdings).

See our latest analysis for CK Life Sciences Int'l. (Holdings)

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About CK Life Sciences Int'l. (Holdings)?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

Institutions have a very small stake in CK Life Sciences Int'l. (Holdings). That indicates that the company is on the radar of some funds, but it isn't particularly popular with professional investors at the moment. If the business gets stronger from here, we could see a situation where more institutions are keen to buy. It is not uncommon to see a big share price rise if multiple institutional investors are trying to buy into a stock at the same time. So check out the historic earnings trajectory, below, but keep in mind it's the future that counts most.

CK Life Sciences Int'l. (Holdings) is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that CK Hutchison Holdings Limited is the largest shareholder with 45% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 22% and 7.5% of the stock.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 2 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of CK Life Sciences Int'l. (Holdings)

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of CK Life Sciences Int'l., (Holdings) Inc.. Insiders have a HK$1.1b stake in this HK$5.1b business. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 24% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 7.5%, of the shares on issue. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 45% of the CK Life Sciences Int'l. (Holdings) shares on issue. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for CK Life Sciences Int'l. (Holdings) (2 can't be ignored!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free free list of interesting companies.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.